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Dandy Dozen: Sprinter Christian Coleman answered the bell every time

Published 2:33 p.m. ET June 25, 2016

CHERYL TREWORGY/TENNESSEE ATHLETICS Tennessee's Christian Coleman wins the 200 meters during the NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships on March 12 in Birmingham, Ala.(Photo: Cheryl Treworgy)

Christian Coleman spends as little time as possible being excellent. Shaving a fraction of a second brings a smile.

So should being named top Vol in my 10th annual Dandy Dozen review of individual performances by University of Tennessee athletes in 2015-16.

In a close race, the subjective committee of one picked the sophomore sprinter as the dandiest Vol of the school year.

The four biggest races on a track sprinter's calendar are the 60-meter and 200-meter races at the NCAA indoor championships and the 100 and 200 at the NCAA outdoor championship.

Coleman answered the bell every time. Four races, four medals. Indoors, he won the 200 and finished third in the 60. Outdoors he was second in both the 100 and 200.

The SEC indoor male runner of the year earns bonus points for breaking the school record in the 100 set in 2001 by Olympic gold medalist Justin Gatlin.

Coleman's indoor 200 national title was one of four by UT athletes. Two others came from track and field, one from diving.

Here are the other 11:

2. Nick Senzel: Tennessee baseball had a disappointing season, but not Senzel. The third baseman finished top 10 in almost every important SEC offensive category. Several All-America honors followed but the topper was being picked second overall by Cincinnati in the Major League Baseball draft.

3. The Return Guys: No football team in America had happier returns than Tennessee. Evan Berry led the nation in kickoff returns with a 38.3-yard average and made multiple All-America teams. Cam Sutton led the nation in punt returns at 18.7 yards. Between them they accounted for five (Berry three, Sutton two) touchdowns.

4, Felicia Brown: One fast lady, Brown swept the SEC and NCAA indoor 200 sprint titles. She won again at SEC outdoor 200 but her perfect season ended with a sixth-place finish at the NCAA meet. Brown was named SEC outdoor women's runner of the year.

5. Jake Blankenship: The Vols' pole-vault tradition continues as Blankenship overcame an injury during the indoor season to dominate outdoors. The SEC outdoor title was a stepping stone to the NCAA victory, the first outdoor track and field title by a Vol since 2006.

6. Liam Stone: The New Zealander put together a big series of dives to win the 1-meter springboard at the NCAA meet, the first Vol to win a swimming or diving national title since 2004. Stone missed the SEC meet trying to qualifying for New Zealand's Olympic team.

7. Mauricio Robles: For the second time in his career, the native of Mexico is the SEC men's diver of the year. He won both the platform and 1-meter springboard at the SEC meet. Robles scored in all three NCAA events, his best was fourth on the 1-meter.

8. Chelsea Blaase: She ran to three SEC distance titles, 3,000 and 5,000 indoors, 10,000 outdoors, and was runner-up in SEC cross country. She also had top-10 finishes at three NCAA races.

9, Anna Newell: Her fourth-place tie (6-under par) at the NCAA golf championship was the best finish in UT women's history. In the fall season, Newell broke two NCAA scoring records while winning the Las Vegas Collegiate Showdown.

10. Kevin Punter Jr.: As a senior, Punter was willing to become a point guard and carry the UT offense. His 22.2 scoring average was second-best in the SEC and the highest by a Vol since Allan Houston in 1993.

11. Rainey Gaffin: A number of Vols had outstanding softball seasons. Gaffin, a third-team All-American, gets the nod because she's a double value. In addition to a career-high .380 batting average (second to Meghan Gregg's .383), Gaffin was 9-3 pitching with a 2.32 ERA. After she suffered a fractured arm in the SEC tournament, the Vols were vulnerable in their NCAA regional.

12. Julie Eckel: Tennessee's soccer team had trouble producing goals but stayed in games thanks to the All-SEC senior goalkeeper. She led the SEC with eight shutouts and an .818 save percentage.